Raining Stars
by Time Signature
Summary: This is a Contestshipping fanfic about the Japanese wishing festival Tanabata. Jirachi will play a part in this. Chapter 1: As they watched, small smiles on their faces, May became a tiny speck of green and orange that soon disappeared into the giant shining ball. ON HOLD.
1. Of Wishing Festivals

Raining Stars

A/N: This is a fanfic based on the Japanese wishing festival _Tanabata_, which is held annually on July 7th.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. All rights belong to Satoshi Tajiri.

Chapter 1: Of Wishing Festivals

Warning(s): Legendary Pokemon turn into gijinka. The "traditions" have been strongly altered from the originals (hence the word "based," not "about, is used above").

~oOo~

"Oh, look, guys! Isn't that the next town?" asked a giddy May to her traveling companions Drew, Solidad, and Harley as she reached the top of the hill that she had run up just moments ago, unable to contain her excitement. The others, who did not have the strength left to catch up to her after a long day's walk, continued to walk up the slope leisurely, for they had often seen the girl do the same thing.

With a tired expression on his face, Drew replied, "March, all the rest of us can see is a _hill_. Honestly, I'm surprised that you can even walk, much less run, since I remember that just a few hours ago, you fell flat on your face grumbling that you can't move at all." Apparently he had not changed over the time they had been journeyed together…and neither had May.

"I was hungry, OK? I mean, lunch was delayed for fifteen minutes! And it's really hard to resist eating after taking a bite," retorted the youngest coordinator, puffing out her cheeks and glaring at the green-haired boy.

At this comment, Harley burst out laughing, not stopping even after Solidad laid a hand on his shoulder and signaled him to at least try maintaining a straight face. "Hun, you're the only one who almost faints after just hearing that lunch would be fifteen minutes later. You made it sound like we starve you!"

Turning as red as her former bandana, May snapped, "Shut up and come here already! You guys are slower than Slowpokes!" Then she turned away from them to face the sight spreading below her, mumbling about how she'd wanted to show them the scene because it was really pretty.

Indeed, the first glimpse of the town had taken May's breath away; even though she could not see the details, as it was quite a distance away, she still gasped in awe when greeted with the sight.

She stomped her foot childishly as she waited impatiently for the rest of them to come. "I didn't come here before it becomes too dark for nothing, you know! Come on!"

The brunette's irritation was soon forgotten when a great big _whoosh_ tousled her hair and blew away her bandana. "Wh…what?" she stood dumbfounded for a moment before making a small squeak and chasing after the square cloth that had flown away. After catching it, retying it tightly around her head, May squealed indignantly at Drew's Flygon pompously sitting atop the hill she had been standing on.

"That's…cheating! No fair!" she spluttered while the three other trainers disembarked the green dragon, petting its head as they did so. Pointedly ignoring her, Drew thanked his Pokemon and returned it to its ball.

"May, we're up here. That's what you wanted, right?" Always the voice of reason, Solidad soothed the fuming coordinator. "Now what did you want us to see?"

At this, May perked up and proudly gestured to the magnificent picture below. "'Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair'!"

Drew, who had opened his mouth to make another comment about May's lack of brains, promptly shut it closed. Harley, who almost had a fit of the so-called laughing sickness, did so as well.

"It's…" Drew started. All three latecomers finished, "beautiful."

No other words could describe the view. Amidst a backdrop of dark, dark greens and blue-black sky the town glowed a pale yellow, almost as though it was a swarm of Illumise. Soft pastel pink, blue, green, and purple dots weaved in and out of the larger light, and faintly one could decipher rows upon rows of bobbing paper lanterns.

May laughed, showing her pearly teeth. "Solidad, Solidad!" she exclaimed, tugging at the coral-haired woman's sleeve. "Can I run ahead? Please?"

Chuckling softly at the young girl's antics, such as the Lillipup-eyed pout, Solidad nodded. (She personally believed that no one could resist May when she had the pout on her face.)

The instant May registered Solidad's head nodding, she dashed down the hill, outstretching her arms like a Flying-type and letting her tresses, which had come out of the Stoutland-ear hairstyle, billow behind her. She giggled, emitting a tinkle of a laugh that floated on the wind back to the remaining trio. As they watched, small smiles on their faces, May became a tiny speck of green and orange that soon disappeared into the giant shining ball.

~oOo~

Author's Note: This is the first chapter of _Raining Stars_. This was intended to be a daily updated story until 7/7, but I became a bit busy…Even if I can't finish by then, I will finish. This will be about 5 or 6 chapters long.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading!

Time Signature


	2. Of Paper Lanterns

Raining Stars

A/N: This was originally part of Ch. 1, but I thought it had become too long, so this is Ch. 2.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. All rights belong to Satoshi Tajiri.

Chapter 2: Of Paper Lanterns

~oOo~

"Wow…" whispered May, swiveling her head rapidly to take in as much of the sight as possible. Paper lanterns of every color imaginable, most being reddish, swung high above her head. Small stores lined the streets, with vendors calling out wares and prices. What awed her most, though, were the stalks of bamboo placed at almost every single open space – between the shops, in the middle of the avenues, everywhere.

Most were bare, having only a few decorations if any. That did not matter; May was surprised at the sheer number of stalks. As she gaped at the spectacle, she felt a small hand tap her knee.

"Eep!" she yelped before looking down at the culprit. The "culprit," a small two- or three-year-old, squealed joyfully as she held out the paper lantern she held in her chubby little hands. As she did so, though, the toddler tripped over the hem of her odd garb. If May had not grabbed her in time, her face would have met the ground, creating all sorts of bruises and cuts.

Feeling relieved, the young coordinator held the small child to eye level, making silly faces so the infant would laugh again (at this point, she had totally forgotten about her companions, who, in turn, were unhurriedly strolling down the hill). While amusing the little girl, May examined the lantern and the clothing in more detail. The paper lantern had watercolor paintings of morning glories in soft pastel colors, and the weird clothing…she thought Ash had talked about it once…right, a kimono! had matching designs on a light pink background.

"Ah, thank you so much! I'm so sorry to cause you all this trouble," cried a voice not too far away. Before the brunette could look up, however, the toddler squealed again and started flapping her arms and legs in an effort to get down and run to the person who had called. May gently put the small girl down and faced the woman who had approached them. Seeming to be in her early thirties, the lady wore a grateful and apologetic smile on her face. Shaking her head at her apparent daughter, she scooped the tiny, laughing girl up in her arms, swinging the sleeves of her dark blue kimono with white lilies.

"Traveler," the mother began in a clear tone. "I, Stella, welcome you on behalf of our town. Please enjoy the festival here."

May nearly jumped up and down. A festival! Parties! Good FOOD! But, keeping herself in check, instead she asked, "What is the festival about?" before returning to playing with the toddler in the woman's arms.

"Ah, it is an annual festival in this town, Astra, which honors Jirachi and her wishing magic. Would you like to partake in it as well? I'm sure Jirachi would approve, as would her priestess." Stella waved a free arm in the direction of the gala. "Today is the first day of the four-day Tanabata, and the name for today is the 'Festival of Lanterns.'" Saying so, she held up the paper lamp her thrilled daughter, Akari, grasped.

"We will have continuous celebrations, each for a different aspect of our wishes, until the seventh – the Festival of Wishes." Stella paused, glancing up at the twinkling lights sprinkled on a field of dark blues and blacks. May looked in the same direction as well, not realizing the corners of her mouth curving into a small smile. "That day, Jirachi will hear our wishes and bring them up to the sky, making each of them a star so that someone else may wish upon it. Traveler, may your wish come true."

Stella turned, looking one last time at May, and melted into the crowd. May tried to chase her to introduce herself, but at that precise moment, her three fellow coordinators appeared.

"Anything fun happen? Anything I might want to do?" questioned Harley, pestering the poor brunette until Drew and Solidad pulled him away.

"Guys, guys! I just learned that there's a festival going on! It's for Jirachi! There's good food, I'm sure! Stella said we could participate too! Come on, let's go!" Shouting this all in one breath, May bounced around happily, tugging on the green-haired boy's and the coral-haired woman's hands (but not Harley's). Noticing this, she quickly snatched her hand away from Drew's, trying, unsuccessfully to Solidad, to hide the blood rising in her cheeks.

"C'mon, let's go," she hurried them in an effort to calm herself down. This time, she did not grab anyone's hand, also letting go of Solidad's. May frantically started a mental conversation within her mind to convince herself that that was because she had a burning hot hand from…the lantern she had touched a while ago. (I'm not blushing, I'm not blushing, I really really really don't have any feelings for Drew!)

She was distracted, however, with the voices of storekeepers advertising their goods or games. "Goldeen scooping!" shouted one, while another hollered, "Jirachi masks!" and yet another bellowed, "Cottonee candy!"

May pleaded Solidad to let her wander among the stalls so she could try out each one.

"As long as you don't become lost, or use up all your money, fine," sighed the leader of their small entourage in a motherly tone. Hearing this, May shrank away; apparently the thought of money management had never occurred to her.

Drew exasperatedly threw out his hand. "July, I'll go with you. That way, we don't have to go to the trouble of finding you later."

The aforementioned girl puffed out her cheeks in anger, muttering, "Why assume that I'll get lost?" before noticing that he intended to hold hands with her. Her palms flying up to her rapidly reddening cheeks, she violently swung her head side to side and tightly closed her eyes. "Kyah, holding hands? With Drew? Yeek, I can't do that!"

Although she had thought that it had only been said in her mind, it actually had been voiced loudly. While Harley and Solidad had understood the true meaning behind that exclamation, Harley's outburst shushed by Solidad, Drew did not. "May, that hurt, actually," the chartreuse-haired coordinator groaned with an injured air.

"Um, well, I didn't mean it like that, you see, umm…"

May, although seeming fine on the outside, felt a slight pang in her chest. (I guess he really doesn't think anything about holding hands with me. It's just me. Why not? All his fans are way prettier than I am…wait, why am I thinking this? I'm not in l…love with Drew!)

Steeling herself, she continued, "Uh, ok, you can come with me, but don't hold my hand. I'm not a little kid, I can handle things fine." Sneaking a glance at Drew, May heaved a breath in relief when she saw that he appeared to be fine. "Harley, Solidad, what will you guys be doing?"

Waving his hand flamboyantly, Harley responded, "Eh, we'll be somewhere. See ya later, hun!" Then he pulled a reluctant Solidad away from the young pair (couple, Harley insists) into the multitudes of people.

"O-kay. I guess that's that. What do you want to do, January?" Drew, after a momentary silence, turned to the bandana-loving girl beside him.

"That Cottonee candy stand, and then the Octillery-yaki store, and then the yakisoba place! Oh, I almost forgot about the caramel apples, too! Where should we start…?"

The boy sighed; of course she would only think about food.

"May, why don't we start from the closest one? You can eat while we walk."

Her sapphire eyes sparkled. "Yay! Thanks! OK, let's…GO!" Pulling the unfortunate boy's arm with the force of a turbo engine, she sprinted to the nearest shop – a store for lanterns and water balloons.

The owner grinned at May. "Would you like a lantern for today's Festival? The light is said to guide Jirachi to you. Since you're so pretty, I'll discount the price. How about this lantern with sunflowers?"

Before Drew could tell May to think twice, she handed her money over to the storekeeper's waiting hand. Steering the gullible girl away from the stand, he was about to shout at her for handing her money over without actually thinking; when he saw her ecstatic face, though, he could not.

"Look, Drew, my own lantern! Isn't it pretty? Sunflowers and blue swirls! It feels like summer!" She flashed a bright smile rivaling the light from the lantern, admiring it from every side. "Now I can compare lanterns with Akari-chan!"

The boy was about to retort how lanterns _cannot_ "feel like summer," but he decided against it as May simply looked so happy.

"Drew, I want to go to that store next! The apples are calling to me! They're begging me to eat them!"

She dragged him to several other stands in a similar fashion, never letting that smile disappear from her face. Once her hands and mouth were full, May pushed some boxes into Drew's hands so she could have as much food close to her at once. Despite some grumbling, the boy did not refuse to do so; he would not admit it, but he was enjoying the festival with May as well.

Soon darkness descended upon the town, and one by one the lanterns above their heads went out. One by one, the stores closed their doors. The lights of handheld lanterns, dipping up and down, slowly scattered from the town square. As the Festival of Lanterns gradually came to an end, the green-haired boy and the brunette girl walked together toward the brightest building in sight – the Pokemon Center.

"I had so much fun today! I can't believe that this is going to last for 3 more days!" May talked rapidly, moving her hands in an animated manner. Beside her, Drew simply listened. They reached their destination, checked in, and met up with Harley and Solidad, who were waiting on the sofas on the lounge. After sharing some stories, all four went to their respective rooms after bidding each other goodnight.

After the last stragglers had gone to bed in the Pokemon Center, the lights grew dim. Overhead, the stars flickered gently, remembering all that they had seen.

~oOo~

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed Ch. 2 of _Raining Stars_. I'll upload again maybe in two or three days. See you soon!

Time Signature


	3. Of Bamboo Decorations Part 1

Raining Stars

A/N: Sorry for the late update. Thanks for reading this!

Chapter 3: Of Bamboo Decorations Part 1

~oOo~

When all four travelers woke up and went to the lobby of the Pokemon Center, they saw Chanseys and Delibirds waddling all over the place carrying huge boxes filled with…

"What are those decorations? For Christmas? Why are you moving them?" asked May at a rapid-fire pace, running up to the closest red and white penguin. Indeed, the Pokemon were carrying paper chains, streamers tipped with golden stars, and the like.

"Airhead, the Pokemon won't understand you. Even if they did, they can't respond," commented Drew drily as he and the other two stood to the side. "Besides, didn't we come here to eat breakfast? I wonder _who_ started banging on the door shrieking hysterically that we needed to get downstairs to eat."

Solidad smiled demurely at this, although she did look as though she was hiding a laugh. Harley, on the contrary, started guffawing at Drew's comment.

"Hun, it was epic! I never saw Drew so flustered that he didn't even do his hair! May-May, you need to do that more, just to Drew. I, on the other hand, need my beauty sleep." Saying so, the eye-catching (not in a good way) man walked away toward the dining room, Drew and Solidad following, though the green-haired boy seemed annoyed at Harley's "advice" to May.

The chestnut-haired girl, who had been playing with the mildly irritated Delibird, turned around curiously at this…and noticed that she had been left behind. Rushing to catch up, which had never occurred before a meal, May shouted at them to wait. After catching up, she pulled Drew's jacket's sleeve. "Did I surprise you that much? I didn't notice anything. And, well, I was hungry! But I knew that it's bad manners to start eating without waiting, so, well, you know…" she trailed off, desperately rationalizing why she had (forcibly) woken up her traveling companions initially at five o'clock by yelling that it was the end of the world.

The most reasonable voice in the group, Solidad finally spoke up, informing May, "Most people would react that way if someone, especially if they trusted that someone, told them that it was 'the end of the world.' Not many have your definition of that, which is 'not eating for more than eleven hours.'"

"Oh," pouted May. Then perking up, she replied, "No, my definition is 'not eating a filling meal for more than eleven hours.' I mean, I ate those carnival things, but those don't count."

As the door to the dining room came into view, Drew sighed, "Eating so much isn't ladylike, June," to…an empty space that had been previously occupied by the girl.

From the entrance, May angrily bit back, "Sh…shut up! Eating well and sleeping well is important to a growing girl like me!" She purposely decided to ignore the sting that had accompanied Drew's "You're unladylike" remark. She _did_ care about her unfortunately growing waistline, but her love for food overpowered that worry. By a lot. Still, what girl doesn't feel sad when the one she cares for (May objected viciously at this thought, eliciting a few odd looks from the Pokemon and other passers-by) says that she's not very mannered, and, however indirectly, that she's becoming fat?

"Hurry up, I swear you guys get slower every day. And Drew, you're the one that calls me a Munchlax!"

"It's true, though. You're just like one. Slow both in mind and body, but fast only when it comes to food. You eat a lot, and then sleep. How are you _not_ like a Munchlax?"

May's normally bright blue eyes flashed an angry red. Maybe Drew had gone too far? Emitting a flaming aura, she stomped back to the latecomers, grabbed her rival by the neck, and dragged him to the dining hall, ignoring the boy's protests and the adults' efforts to calm her down.

Forcing him into a seat, she growled, "Drew, you better find out what those decorations mean. And then, even then, I might not forgive you." Then she flounced off to the buffet ("How fast can that girl change emotions?" muttered Harley) and piled breakfast on three plates, holding one in each hand and resting one between her shoulder and chin.

~oOo~

Author's Note: Ok, I know it's short. It's about half the length of the other chapters! But I started experiencing some mild writer's block, and I thought that it would be better to upload how much I have completed. Part 2 will be up soon, I promise. Jirachi's coming!

Thanks for reading this. See you soon!

Time Signature


End file.
